Rebuilding Downtown

Thirty years ago, downtown St. Louis fell silent after dark as the city’s work force cleared out, having little in the way of entertainment, restaurants or shopping to keep them downtown. There was no developed loft district for professionals to call home, nor any hustle and bustle along Washington Avenue at night. Over the years, the revitalization of downtown slowly gained momentum. The St. Louis Downtown Development Action Plan was proposed and adopted, proving the catalyst for the city’s rejuvenation.

John Fox Arnold, chair of law firm Lashly & Baer, co-chaired the 1999 revitalization plan. Over a decade later, Arnold touted the city’s progress, noting the recent surge in development activity downtown at a time when the construction industry at large has stalled. “If you add in the Kiel Opera House, St. Louis Centre, the Laurel, Park Pacific and the Central Library, you’ve got a huge construction amount going on right now,” he said.

“Significant progress has been made on the plan itself and things that were not in the plan but consistent with its goals,” such as Citygarden and the Gateway Mall conversion.

Dynamic Downtown: Major projects are under way, including the $243 million redevelopment of One City Centre, St. Louis Centre and the Laurel; and The Lawrence Group’s $109 million Park Pacific.

2001: The $75 million, 257-room Westin Hotel opens at 811 Spruce St., developed by Richard Baron and McCormack Baron Salazar. It is sold for $50 million in 2007.

Kitty Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, is leading the effort to attract the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Renaissance Grand Hotel & Suites opens at 800 Washington Ave. in 2003. Bondholders on the $277 million development took ownership of the downtown hotel in February 2009 after its previous owners defaulted.

2003: A.G. Edwards Inc., now Wells Fargo Advisors, completes two buildings, adding over 1 million square feet to its campus on Jefferson Avenue. Following the takeover by Wells Fargo, Danny Ludeman keeps the headquarters downtown.

Michael and Steve Roberts, owners of the Mayfair Hotel, are nearing completion on their $80 million Roberts Tower, a 55-unit residential and restaurant development downtown.

2006: The $77 million Old Post Office restoration and Ninth Street Garage are completed. Steve Stogel, right, and DFC Group partnered with DESCO, led by Mark Schnuck, on the project.

St. Louis Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman has overseen downtown redevelopment projects, as well as improvements at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and enhancements to the Gateway Mall.

Only the fourth mayor of St. Louis to be elected to a third term, Francis Slay has worked to revitalize the city, with $4.3 billion invested downtown since 2000.

2006: Inaugural season is played at the new, $270 million Busch Stadium.

2008: The all-suite, 295-room HoteLumiere and the 200-room Four Seasons St. Louis open north of Laclede’s Landing.

Citygarden, downtown’s 2.9-acre sculpture park, opened July 1, 2009, providing an oasis to downtown residents, employees and visitors. With its flowing water and green plants, the park provides a contrast to the cement roads and office buildings. The Gateway Foundation invested $25 million to $30 million upfront for the development and will pay for all future costs, except water and electricity.

2010: Downtown’s population reaches 12,000 residents and a work force of about 88,000. It is closing in on $5 billion invested downtown, including the long-awaited $78.7 million restoration of the historic Kiel Opera House, recently renamed the Peabody Opera House.